Chelsea have reportedly ostracised three unwanted players from the first-team facilities at Cobham as they do their utmost to offload the trio.
Despite treading a fine Financial Fair Play line, Chelsea have still been freely splashing the cash this summer with big-money deals for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Filip Jorgensen, Omari Kellyman, Renato Veiga, Aaron Anselmino and Caleb Wiley.
Deals for Wolverhampton Wanderers' Pedro Neto and Atletico Madrid's Samu Omorodion are also in the pipeline, although funds have been raised through the sales of Ian Maatsen, Lewis Hall and Omari Hutchinson.
A fourth big-money exit will soon be confirmed, as Conor Gallagher has completed the formalities of his £34m move to Atletico Madrid after failing to come to an agreement with the Blues over a new contract.
More are expected to be cut from Enzo Maresca's bloated squad, which currently houses a staggering 42 senior players, and Chelsea are taking dramatic steps to axe some of their outcasts.
Trevoh Chalobah, Romelu Lukaku 'exiled' from first team
According to The Telegraph, all of Trevoh Chalobah, Romelu Lukaku and Armando Broja have been barred from the first-team facilities and forced to train with the youth teams as Chelsea try to offload them.
The Blues supposedly condemned Gallagher to the same treatment after the midfielder rejected an offer of a two-year contract extension, and another home-grown man in Chalobah has now suffered the same fate.
The 25-year-old has become a reliable presence in the Blues backline since graduating from their youth academy, and he was only rewarded with a new long-term contract until 2028 in November 2022.
Chalobah started each of Chelsea's last six games of the 2023-24 Premier League season, scoring in a 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur, but the Blues are desperate to sell him as his transfer would go down as pure profit on their financial records.
The defender did not earn a place on Chelsea's USA tour squad and has supposedly not been seen in first-team training or at lunch since the Blues returned to Cobham, where Lukaku and Broja are also training with the club's academy squads.
Chelsea want to avoid 'false impressions' over playing time
Chelsea have supposedly justified their controversial decision by affirming that players who are not in Maresca's plans should focus on trying to find a new club rather than being given a 'false impression' of their prospects at the club.
Premier League duo Aston Villa and Crystal Palace - who are at risk of losing Newcastle United-bound Marc Guehi - are said to be interested in the £25m-rated Chalobah, who was determined to revive his Blues career under Maresca but will seemingly be forced to give up on that dream.
Meanwhile, rumours continue to swirl surrounding a move to Napoli for Lukaku, who could reunite with Antonio Conte at the Partenopei, who are yet to meet Chelsea's £37.8m demands.
The Blues' interest in Victor Osimhen naturally led to suggestions that a player-plus-cash deal could be on the cards, but that is not thought to be a viable option at this stage.
Broja is apparently attracting interest from teams in both the Premier League and La Liga, and his Blues deal also has another four years left to run. body check tags ::
